Canal-lock



UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

W. W. VIRDIN, OF HAVRE DE GRACE, MARYLAND.

CANAL-LOCK;

Specication of Letters Patent No. 8,668, dated January 20, 1852.

To` all whom may concern Be it known that I, W. IV. VIRDIN, of Havre de Grace, in the county of Harford and State of Maryland, have invented cer` tain new and useful Improvements in Locks `Applicable to Canals and other Aqueducts; 1 and` I do hereby declare that the followingl is a full, clear, and exact description of thel y s`a1ne,.refer`ence being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specifica- I position to receive a further and lower portion, in which- Figure 1 is a plan of a double lock with` my improvements in connection.` Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken through theA line 0 0 Fig. 1. Fig. 3 a further longitudinal section through the line 1-1 Fig. 1 and Fig. 4L a transverse section taken asindi-3 cated by the line`2-2 Figs. 1 and` 2.

The same letters of reference denote sim ilar parts in each of the several figures.

Thenature of my invention refers to the?` economizing of water in passing canalor other boats from one level to another, and: consists in the use of plungers or ioats working in suitable chambers provided with ap propriate passages and wickets connecting Q them with the lower level, to which `plungers the boat, in its passage through the lock, isv attached, so that in fling to the lower level,

the weight of the boat is made to force up the water in the float chambers to ,the higher level, thus contributing to the latter level an amount of water to sustain the loss by the quantity passing olf to the lower level.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention I will proceed more fully to describe it.

A B are two chambers in formation of a double lock; C C the higher level to each lock, and D D the lower one. The lock, in construction and general operation, is similar to that now in use, and may be made of wood or masonry as at present, with a partition wall between either singl lock, and each chamber lit-ted with way gates E E E E turning on pivots and operated by project ing arms or levers also fitted with sluices bbbb.

F, G, H, are reservoirs, of which there may be any number, situated at different or the same levels, and communicating with the chambers of either lock by wicket or gate as will be presently explained. They may be of the same area as the`lock chainbers and their depth or points of connection with the lock chambers should be governed by the consideration as to the proportion in value which the time consumed in operating these reservoirs bears to the importance of the water saved. The reservoir F is represented as situated at a higher level than the reservoir G and is calculated to receive 4a body of water `from the chamber A amounting in extent to a certain portion or division of the fall, or dierence of level, while the reservoir Gr isshown in a lower tion of thefall, both reservoirs F G communicating at their bottoms with the chamber `Aby passages opened and shut by' wicket or gates c1, c2. The reservoir II is represented as communicating in a similarmanner tothe other two by wickets di, cl2, with the lock chambers A B. As before observed,

these reservoirs may be extended in number and situated at various depths of the fall according to the amount of water it is del sirable (regarding the value of time) to economize, but the principle of their application will be `fully set forth `in the illustra-tions quoted. The passages between the reservoirs and the chambers are indicated by the letters e f g z. which contain respectively the several wickets `within them, the passages e being stopped bythe wicket c1, f by c2, g by (Z1, and 7L by cl2. These and the other wickets open by raising and may be operated through hand in any suitable way; in the drawings they are (each wicket)` intended to be constructed and operate alike, so that where in those views one or more of the wickets are fully represented, it should be remembered that the others not so fully seen have a similar position and action with their respective passages.

The two chambers A, B, are connected at the bottom by branches I J (see Fig. 2) passing through the partition wall or space between the single locks, wickets, or gates z' y' corresponding to each other serving to break or establish connection between t-he two chambers A, B as desired.

K L M are spaces or compartments having plungers or floats N N N within them.

`These compartments are of the same depth,

'further passages g, r, s, are made in these compartments, from one side at the bottom thereof up to the outer 'surface which is positioned at or above the higher level of the canal and which has a continuous groove or channel u (each compartment) surrounding it on the top branching off, by extension of the channel, to the higher level of the canal. 'The iioats N N N fit loosely in the compartments so as to leave a small space on every side between them and the compartments, they should be made as light as consistent with strength for the purpose of making them buoyant.

P, P, P, P are beams or levers resting on cross pieces on the top surface of the several floats and hinged or jointed where attached to the center float, such jointed beams or levers being intended to be used, sor as toraise, where vessels having masts pass the locks, but where boats without any masts pass, fiXed beams extending over the several floats may be used, or any other similar and appropriate devices employed. The

floats and reservoirs are equally applicable to a single lock and for such with any suitable modifications I claim these improvements, ar double lock having been selected for illustration (in addition) of the waterl connection between the two chambers.

rIhe operation of the floats N, N, N, it will be seen by referring to -their construction vand arrangement, is as follows: The severalv compartments K, L, M, are made to communicate with the lower level of the canal by. their respective passages if, Z, m, s0 that when a boat passing from the higher l to the lower level is within the chamber, the way gates being closed, the boat, by its descent, is made to force up water to' the higher level, by closing the gates or wickets beams or levers P, P, as represented in Fig. v

4: where the connecting chain is 'tightened np at the proper time by a windlass on board the boat, which latter, as it begins to drop through the drawing off of the water, causes the water in the compartments to be forced up the sides of the floats and up the passages q a" s into the continuous groove or channel a (of each) and so on to the higher level of the canal, till the floats reach the bottom of the compartments which is when the boat has sunk to a line with the lower level. These floats when working in combi-- nation with the reservoirs, before referred toand explained, will serve to economize as much water as is lost by the opening of the sluices in the way gates.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Causing the weight of the descending boat to act as a `supplying power to the higher level by the use of plungers or floats (any number) fitting in suitable chambers provided with appropriate passages and communicating with the higher and lower levels for operation in the manner essentially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto i affixedl my name before two subscribing witnesses this sixth day of November one thousand eight/hundred and fifty one.

W. W. VIRDIN.

Witnesses:

THOMAS M. BACON, ROBERT I-I. SADLER. 

